Steering device.



C. W. LINSCOTT.

STEERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY5, 191s.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

P, :0 Q I}. a Q q ()4 5 5'? 1gv5 fi 58 C. W. LINSCOTT.

STEERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY5.1915v 1,1 60,296. Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

C. W. LINSCOTT.

smmwe DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1915.

1,10,296, Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

awe/Mom C-W. LlNSCOTT i nrrnn sra'rns PATENT CHARLES W. LINSGOTT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

STEERING- DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it knownthat I, Ci-rAnLns W. Lnvsoor'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San F rancisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved steering device and has for one of its objects to provide an improved rudder construction and mounting which will permit of the easy and quick removal of the rudder when broken, and the arrangement of a new rudder in position without delaying the progress of the vessel.

The invention has for another object to provide an improved construction and mounting of the rudder post, and a sectional rudder adapted to be assembled and mounted for turning movement upon the post from the deck of the vessel.

It is a further object of my inventionto provide an improved auxiliary rudder which will enable the vessel to be very quickly turned in cases of emergency.

The invention has for a further object to provide a rotary rudder or steering propeller applicable to either steam or sailing" vessels and which may be mounted in multiples of any desired number beneaththe bow or stern of the vessel.

lVith the above and other objects in view, mv invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrange mont of parts to be hereinafter more fully described. claimed, and illustrated inthe accmnnanyine drawings, in which, y

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a vessel provided with. my improved rudder mounting and auxiliary rotary steering device; Fig. 9. is an enlargedvertical section of the rudder mounting; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 isa section taken on the line 4.-& of Fig. 2; Fin. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a. slightly modified construction of the rudder; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the modified form; and Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line,8 8 of Fig. 6.

It is to be understood that the accompanyinn illustrations, disclosing the mounting and arrangement ofthe steering devices, are

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1915.

Patented Nov. 16, E315.

Serial No. 26,628.

illustrative only, and that the practical application of the invention termini? the sub Ject-matter of this application is not restricted to any particular type of vessel or construction thereof.

In the drawings I have shown the stern portion 5 of a steam vessel, of the double or quadruple screw-propeller type, and 6 designates one of the screw-propellers which may be of any approved construction. The keel 7 or" the vessel extends rearwardlv beneath the props ler and constitutes a seat or support'for the lower end of the rudder post, to be hereinafter referred to. The vessel 5 is provided above and rearwardly oi the propeller 6, with a well or compartment 8 the upper end of which is closed by re movable deck planks 9. Removable bottom plates 10* are normally supported by ledges or shoulders 11 which constitute the base wall of the well or compartment. These plates are held in place byremovable cleats or bars 12.

Through the well 8, the vertically disposed obliquely inclined rudder post 13 extends, the deck planks 9 and the bottom plates 10 of the well having their opposed edges recessed to accommodate said rudder post. The upper and lower endsof this post are providedwith circular head plates let, the lower plate being securely bolted, as at 15, to the keel '7 of the vessel, while the upper head plate 14 is similarlybolted to a. longitudinally extending beam 16. The

upper end portion of this post 18 is of rel atively small diameter, as shown at 17, and from a point within the well 8 to the lower end of the rudder post, the same is of increased diameter.

The rudderproper includes a tubular upper end portion 18 which is constructed in two sections adapted to embrace the re duced upper end portion 17 of the rudder post. These semi-circular sections are tightly clamped or secured together by means of bolts or other suitable fastening devices, and to the. lower end or" this upper portion of the rudder, a collar 19 is securelyfixed by means of clamping or set screws 20. The lower ends of the sections of the portion 18 of the rudder extend through'the recesses in the edges of the deck planks 9 and are outwardy flared, as indi-.

. cated at 21, and provided with collar sections 22which are adapted to be securely bolted to the split collar 23 formed upon the upperend of the body of the rudder, indicated at 241.

' 25 designates a pair of brace bars which extend across the deck planks 9 and are re-' 'movably-secured at their ends to the deckof the vessel. The opposed edges of these duced to a minimum in the turning movement of'the rudder.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, I have shown the body 24 of the rudder provided with a longitudinally eX- tending rib or fin 27. The opposite side of this body is longitudinally split, as indicated at 28, and between these spaced portions of the body, the rudder blade 29 is adapted to be fitted. 'This blademay be either of wood, or metal and is securely fixed in' place by means of a plurality of bolts or rivets 30. These bolts or rivets are preferably cut by means of an acetylene torch. when it is desired to remove therudder blade. vAt the lower end of the body 9A of the rudder, the same .is formed with a circular plate or disk 31 and between these opposed faces of this disk and the head 14L on the lower end of the rudder post, suitable bearing balls or rollers are arranged. The

longitudinal rib or fin 27 of the body of the balanced rudderand the blade 29 are provided. with openings 32v for a purpose to g be presently explained. I v

llpon the beam 16, a suitable track 33 is secured, upon which chain hoist sheaves 34 .are mounted to travel. If the rudder should be so badly injured that the vessel cannot be 7 properly steered, the saidrudder may be removed .and another rudder carried by the vessel arranged in its place in the following manner. planks 9 are first removed and the collars 22 and 23 then disconnected so that the upper portion 18 of the rudder proper may be removed from the post 17. .The chain hoist is connected to the. lower body sec- ,tion of the rudder and the plates 10, constivt'uting the bottom wall of the well, together .with the retaining bars 12,,are. then removed and placed upon the deck of the vessel. I-Anydesired power may be used to operate the chain hoist so that the'body of the pro- ;peller is then lifted or elevated upon the post13. After removing the-blade 29 from the body of the rudder, the split side thereof will spread apart so as to permit of the removal of this body from the reduced upper end portion of the post 17, which is of slightly greater diameter than the space between the opposed side platesof the rud- The brace bars 25 and the deck" der body. The new rudder is applied by first engaging the body section thereof upon the reduced upper end portion of the post 17 and then securing the blade 29 thereto. During thls operation, an iron bar. may be passed through the openings 32 in the longi 'tudinal balancing rib 27 and the blade 29 of the rudder body so as to support the rudder in place and thus avoid possibility of the same accidentally moving down upon the 'rudderpost and breaking the keel plate'7.

In Figs. 6. 7 and 8 of the drawings, 1

have illustrated a slightly different form of :the rudder which is especially designed for use upon large vessels. In this'construction,

provided with a heavy integral bracing arm which is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured, as at 39, to a part of the vessel structure.

In both of the rudder constructions above referred to, it will be seen that I have produced a verysimple and durable mounting which will permit of the free turning movement of the rudder in order to properly steer the vessel and while, at thesame time, the rudder will withstand the pressure and strong currents, it is not liable to be easily broken. In the event, however, that the rudder should be broken, the same may be easily and quickly removed and replaced by a new rudderin the manner described.

In order to supplement the action of the rudder above described and to quicken the turning movement of the vessel, I provide an auxiliary steering device; This steering. dev1ce,when employed upon a single screw steamer, is preferably located under the fore-foot or'the 'bowof the'vessels'hull; but

for large, high-speed vessels having twin or quadruple propelling screws, the auxiliary steering device is preferably installed'in the 'skeg'or fdeadwood forwardly of the propelling screws and the-rudder, and at such point as will not interfere therewith, as clearly shown in Fig.1- Provision is, made in the"skeg immediately above the keelson of the vessel, for a metal casting 420 which is securely fixed in place by means of the vertical bolts ll. passing through the ends of peller-shapedblades 44L connected togetherby an annular metal band or rim 15 which the mounting of the rudder is substantially identical with that above referred to, the

the casting, thekeelson, and the keel. The

is shrunk and permanently secured upon said blades. The rim or band is provided upon one face with gear teeth, as shown at 4:6, and with the same, the driving gea'r ll', fixed upon. the lower end of a vertical shaft l8, is engaged. Horizontal straps or bars 49 are secured to opposite sides of the casting and extend across the recess 42, and in these straps, the ends of the shaft 50 of the rotary steering member, are ournaled.

A well casing 51 is built in the hull of the vessel andextends below the deckthereof. This casing provides a protecting housing for the shaft 48. Upon the shaft 48, adjacent its lower end, a collar 52 is fixed, and

the bearing block 53 is disposed in the lower end of the casing 51 and seated upon the casting 42, said. bearing block having lugs for interlocking engagement in recesses providcd in the casting. The casting 42 is further provided with an opening shown at 54, which. is slightly greater in diameter than. the diameter of the pinion 4.7, so that the shaft may be lifted. from the well, when desired. Between the collar 52 and the bear ing member 53, rollers or bearing balls may be arranged. A cap 55 is secured upon the upper end of the well or casing 51 and upon the upper end of the shaft 48, projecting above this cap, the gear 56 is fixed, antifriction bearing members being arranged between the face of said gear and the 0pposed face of the cap 55.

57 designates a second longitudinally disposed track suitably mountedabove the deck of the vessel and upon which the sheave block, indicated at 58, is engaged. A hoist chain, which is trained over the sheave, is adapted to be connected to the upper end of the shaft 58, whereby the same may be readily removed through the well 51 or replaced in operative position. It is, of course, obvious that, in place of the gearing above described, a miter or beveled gear or a worm drive gear may be employed. The power gear, shown at 59, which meshes with the gear 56, may be driven from a gas engine, electric motor, or any other suitable source of power. It is also to be borne in mind that, while I have shown only-one of the rotary steering devices, the same may be employed in multiples of two or more. By the provision of this rotating steering member, the action of the rudder is supplemented so that the vessel may be quickly turned, and liability of collision with another vessel thus avoided. It will, therefore, be appreciated that the present invention is in the nature of a lifesaving appliance for vessels as it, to a great extent, obviates probable loss of life due to shipwreck or collision. The rotation of the steering member may be readily reversed by the proper manipulation of a suitable lever under the control of the operator, so as to turn of steer the vessel in the desired direction.

From the foregoing description, takenin the rotary steering device, the same. are, to

a great extent, protected against injury without, to a material degree, lessenlng their effectiveness in operation. p

The invention, as a whole, is also comparatively simple in its construction and may be embodied in the construction of various types of vessels without greatly increasing the cost thereof. Owing to the easy accessibility of the several parts of the invention, the same may be readily removed or replaced in operative position with a minimum of manual labor and expedition in cases of emergency.

VVhile I have shown and described the preferred construction and arrangement of the several elements employed, it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of considerable modification therein, and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is l. A steering rudder for vessels including in combination with a fixed rudder post, the rudder proper having a body mounted for turning movement upon the post, a rudder blade, said body being provided with means whereby the blade may be detachably con nected to said body, said means, when the blade is detached from the body, enabling the body of the rudder to be moved laterally with respect to the post to engage the body thereon or remove the same.

2. A steering rudder for vessels including in combination with a fixed rudder post having a reduced upper end portion, a rudder provided with a longitudinally split body mounted to rotate upon said post, a rudder blade adapted to be detachably secured in the split side of the body, said body being adapted to be raised upon the post and the rudder blade removed therefrom and the body forced laterally off of the reduced upper end of the rudder post.

3. A steering rudder for vessels comprising in combination with the permanently mounted rudder post, the rudder proper mounted for turning movement on said post and consisting of a lower bodyportion and an upper portion including two separable sections embracing said post and removably connected to said body portion, said body portion, When the sections are disconnected therefrom b6111 ada ated to be raised u on "the post to an inoperative position.

4. A steering rudder for vessels including in combination with a permanentlymounted rudder post :havinga "reduced upper portion; the rudder proper mounted for turning movement on said post and-consisting 'ofa lower body portion and an upper P01131011 including two sections adapted to embrace the upper portion of the post and remevablyconnected to thebody portionof the rudder, said body portion being longitudinally split whereby the same'may beengaged'upon the upper reduced portion of the post or removed'therefrom, and a rudder blade secured between the split por- 'tions ofthe rudder body.

5. The combination with a vessel having a chamber in the hull portion thereof andv removable top and bottom closures for said chamber, of an obliquely inclined permanently mounted rudder post extending I Copies otthis patent may be obtained for end:

moved from the post after the v Witnesses:

through said chamberhaving a reduced upper QIIdPOTtIOIL; a rudder consistlng of a longitudinal split body portlon having an extended reduced neck disposed Within said chamber when the rudder is in operative p0- sltion, semi-tubular rudder sectiens adapted to'einbrace the upper reduced portion of the post and.detachablyconnected to the: upper] end 0r said: neck Within said chamber, a

CHARLES W; LINSCOTT.

C. D. 'OCoNNoR, JAS. CARROLL.

fivecents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

rudder blade'fixed between the opposed split whereby the same may be re- 

